Despite having a previous history in the UFC, Anderson Silva is adamant that he and his fellow countryman Vitor Belfort will not end up boxing each other.
Over the weekend, “The Spider” reminded combat sports fans why he was so feared in his prime years. The 46-year old Brazilian only needed a minute and 21-seconds to fold Tito Ortiz against the ropes. Meanwhile, Silva’s former opponent Belfort headlined the Triller Fight Club event against boxing legend Evander Holyfield. Initially, Belfort was scheduled to face Oscar De La Hoya, but plans changed when “The Golden Boy” tested positive for the coronavirus.
With both UFC legends walking away with the finish victory on Saturday night, it only made sense to pair the two together for a battle of the Brazilians. After a shut-out performance against the short-notice replacement Holyfield, Belfort believes a fight with Anderson Silva makes the most sense right now. Though, “The Spider” believes a fight with Belfort is not in the cards, as they fought in 2011 in which the contest’s results were crystal clear.
On the inaugural episode of MMA Fighting’s new Portuguese-language podcast called Trocação Franca, the former UFC middleweight champion clarified why he thinks the fight with Belfort is a thing of the past.
“My opinion regarding a fight with Vitor, man, what would be more spectacular than the knockout I gave Vitor? Only if we enter the ring and I blow on him and he goes down. Outside of that, nothing cooler could happen. Forget about it, man. People have to forget about it. It’s over.” Silva said with finality.
In a jovial manner, Silva, known for his “Spider” nickname, said the possibility of a potential throwdown may arise if Belfort gets a tattoo of the ‘Spider Kick’ on his chest, taking a page out of the Jake Paul/Tyron Woodley playbook.
“Unless he tattoos the ‘Spider Kick’ on his chest and writes ‘I love Anderson Silva’ right below, then it might happen,” Silva said with a laugh. “He must get the tattoo done before the fight. It must be on his chest, nicely done, really big, so everyone sees the kick. Other than that, there’s no way.” Silva concluded.
With a dominant win against Julio César Chávez Jr. and a finish victory against Tito Ortiz, the boxing world has become Silva’s oyster as he embarks on the twilight period of his storied combat career.
Who would you like to see Anderson Silva box next?
